Melinda Schneider - 40 Years Being Perfect And The Cost No One Saw

Enjoyed this and want to let us know? Drop us a textMelinda Schneider has been on stage since she was three years old. She's released fourteen albums, won six Golden Guitars, sold out the Sydney Opera House more than once, and just debuted at number one on the ARIA charts. By every measure, she is a success story.But in this conversation, Melinda shares what was quietly happening behind all of it — the perfectionism that drove her, the workaholism she couldn't stop, and the breakdown at 47 that finally forced her to put it all down. She talks about the flags she ignored for years, her resistance to accepting help, the terror of going public with her mental health story, and what it's actually taken to rebuild a life that feels good from the inside.This is a conversation about the cost of performing perfect — and what becomes possible when you finally stop.Connect with Melinda: Website:⁠ melindaschneider.com.au ⁠Instagram: ⁠@melindaschneiderofficial⁠The Barbra Streisand show The Way We Were tours nationally from August — including the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.Find out more about Danielle at ⁠daniellecolley.com.au⁠Or follow her on Istagram - ⁠@iamdaniellecolley⁠TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Introduction 05:00 — What it's really like being a successful working artist 09:30 — Where does expectation end and you begin? 11:30 — The perfect impersonation of perfect — and the collapse at 47 20:00— What she was most afraid of: being a disappointment 23:00 — The flags she ignored 27:30 — The trigger, the breakdown, and going to bed30:30 — Resisting medication — and why surrendering to it was the hardest part 34:00 — "Should is shit" — reprogramming the critical inner voice 40:30 — The sandwich generation46:00 — The number one album and what success feels like now 52:00 — Painting with her mum, "I wonder what will happen," and letting go of perfectionism 55:30 — What's next: touring, the Barbra Streisand show, keeping the balance